Carena:“Sawyer--,” my knees gave up, and I nearly collapsed to the ground. Sawyer quickly caught me, supporting my body. He carried me swiftly and placed me on the bed, scattering the candles aside.“Carena! Please pull yourself together,” he said, sitting beside me, holding my hand, and gently patting the back of it.“Sawyer, they were my only family left,” I sniffled, breaking down. I understood that they had never cared much about me, but they were still my family.“How--why would this happen to me again and again?” Tears welled up as I remembered how we had shed tears together, mourning our situation, and the feeling of never having a moment to ourselves before we would fall apart and cry.I remembered everything. Even the harsh times. But hearing the news of their demise had left me devastated.“You need to pull yourself together, Carena. It’s not as if they were good people. They were bad people; they had it coming,” he said softly, running his hands through my hair to comfort
Author’s POV: Many Years Ago: The weather had turned cold, but the house didn’t feel like home anymore for Carena. Ever since her mother had returned, her father and sister had lost their sanity.“Daddy, please no!” Carena pleaded with her father as she wrested the dagger from his hands and threw it away.The small children were oblivious to the situation, but Tabitha had been clinging to Carena’s sleeves ever since Mr. Garcia had entered the room with the intention of harming them.“Please,” Carena repeated through her tears.The atmosphere had become so toxic. Her father would have a tantrum and then express a desire to harm the children. They had gone back and forth with this, but tonight, Mr. Garcia seemed determined to end their lives.“Carena, step away or he will hurt you too,” Maanya rushed to grab her sister and drag her away from their enraged father, but Carena shrugged her off.She knew what she was doing. She needed to protect her step-siblings. They were not to blame f
Carena:“Your father lost his mind that night. He was so angry—” Sawyer paused when I started shaking my head.I couldn't believe all these years, I thought my father was kind enough to let my mother stay.“Why would Mom lie to Dad about that? Is that why Dad never felt close to me? Did that lie ever get exposed to him?” I began to recall the night, and sadly, the way it ended made me wonder if my father ever discovered that my mother had lied to him.But it broke my heart that in order to get back at him, my mother used me. She knew how hateful and spiteful my father could be, yet she told him that about me.“Carena, your mother never lied to your father,” his words shook the world from under my feet.“Then you’re lying to me,” I tried to get up from where we had been sitting and talking, but he held my hand and pushed me back down.“I’m not done yet,” he gave me a sympathetic smile, crushing my heart.I felt like a stranger in my own body. All these years, I hadn’t discovered the tr
Carena:It had been a few weeks since I learned about my family’s passing. I no longer referred to them as my family. But people still knew them as such. I no longer mourned or grieved. However, Sawyer had promised to find out more about my father for me.“Your wolf is special. I knew this the first time I saw you transition,” Sawyer said as he scrolled through his tablet.We were on our way to the Red Raven pack. The event was significant—the entire pack was celebrating the crowning of the new alpha.We had been preparing for this day for a while. Payton and her mother, along with Lord Rennick, had stayed behind to manage pack matters. Ronan and Yamin were also doing well together. It felt like everything had finally settled.We just needed to finish the ritual.“I don’t get it. What do you mean by I have a special wolf?” I asked Sawyer, who was settling into his seat.“You have a wolf that kind of senses the aura. I don’t know how to explain it—” As he continued, I couldn’t help but
Carena:The rest of the journey was amazing. I got to spend time with Sawyer, we talked, hit stops to eat food and rest. And then I fell asleep on his chest.Revisiting the pack where I had endured some of the worst times of my life was strange for me. But thankfully, the mate beside me held my hand and guided me through the crowd. The pack members who once looked at me with disgust were now bowing to me in respect. Some even claimed they had missed me, despite their previous bullying. It all made sense now. They had no personal animosity towards me; it was Jack and his mother whose treatment had given others a free pass to mistreat me. They wanted to take their frustrations out on a royal and found a perfect victim in me. My husband’s sins were being used against me since they couldn’t confront Jack directly.“You are so pretty,” said a woman who used to taunt me for being too clumsy at my mother-in-law’s parties, now commenting with a bow of her head.They wouldn’t dare do anything
Carena:“And damn, you are so gorgeous,” he licked his bottom lip, confusing me even more.“Are you flirting with me, or am I just hallucinating?” I asked in disbelief. This man had the audacity to get my sister pregnant and now he was trying to flirt with me? And he was years younger than I was.“Hmm, what if I said I was flirting with you? Would that upset you?” he smirked, causing me to clench my jaw in frustration.“Yeah, I’m married to my handsome mate, who is outside and will decide whether your pack will receive any help.” I folded my arms over my chest as I glared at him. He seemed slightly taken aback, but it didn’t change his demeanor.It was astonishing how arrogant and oblivious he was.“I understand. You want to be loyal to your mate, but deep down, everyone craves attention—” I had to cut him off since he wasn’t making any sense. Standing in front of him and allowing him to flirt with me felt like I was committing a sin.“Attention? What made you think I would want atten
Carena:I landed one last punch on his face before stepping off him and stretching my neck calmly. Sawyer remained standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame and observing as I finished. It wasn’t that Luke wasn’t allowed to fight back; he tried his best but was clearly outmatched. In that moment, I realized I was far more powerful than I had ever believed.Once I was done, I stepped back and adjusted my hair while Luke attempted to rise, only to fall again.“Easy there buddy! You will break your hip,” Sawyer teased the fallen alpha, smirking at his condition.I was so powered with strength and confidence that I didn't want to stop. But I didn't want to kill him, just teach him a lesson.“Excuse me, Alpha King Sawyer. Please let us know what’s going on?” Of course, the commotion had attracted attention. I saw others peeking inside and then quickly looking away.Sawyer turned to Mr. Beret and gave a dismissive jerk of his shoulders.“Your alpha is quite incompetent. I just don’
Carena:“Okay, so basically, you don’t need to do much. There is a voter here who will teach you everything and also inform you about the condition of the pack. Try to communicate with the pack members and ask your dear loving husband if your pack needs any help and support,” Sawyer said cheekily, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me close to his chest.His comment made my cheeks flush. He was so shameless that he didn't care if anyone was watching. “Everyone is watching,” I said, nudging him to move away. The entire pack had gathered around since the announcement was made that I would be taking over as the alpha queen.The pack members responded rather positively. I expected some to be upset to see me again, but it seemed they had learned their lesson. The disappointment from their previous alpha kings also contributed to their acceptance of me with open arms.“We love our alpha queen!” one of the women shouted, and others echoed her enthusiasm.After giving them a nod